Johnny's Revenge
by charli911
Summary: When Chet Kelly's alter ego, The Phantom, strikes at his favorite victim, John Gage, our favorite dark haired paramedic vows to strike back.
1. Chapter 1

**__****_JOHNNY'S REVENGE_**

Disclaimer: Emergency!" and its characters belong to © Mark VII Productions, Inc. All rights

reserved. No infringement of any copyrights or trademarks is intended or should be inferred. This is a work of fiction, and any similarity to actual persons or events is purely coincidental. I do not own the men and women of Emergency! And only use them here for the purposes of entertainment. No money is made and I hope the creators, writers and actors appreciate that they're creation still resonates with fans after all these years.

Author's Note: In planning this story, I just wanted to do a something with a lighter touch. And I knew that any comic story would have to include Chet Kelly. This is my first attempt at humor. I am more used to the dramatic stuff. So I hope you all like it. I tried to include some of the weird things that I have heard in my 30 years as a police/fire/medic dispatcher. No matter what anyone tells you, no matter what some statistics say, the full moon really does bring out the strange in people.

Originally archived at Two Chickies

/

The day had started out weird. And it was beginning to get worse, if that was possible. The first call of the day was the rescue of a woman stuck in her own garbage disposal. When they had arrived at the house, and the lady's husband had told them she was stuck in the kitchen sink, they figured he must be drunk. But they had gone in anyway, and sure enough, there she was. Leaning over the sink, unable to move.

She had been scraping food from a plate into the disposal, then reached over to turn on the switch. Her long hair had fallen in her face and into the sink, the water washing it down the drain, where it was got caught in the blades of the disposal. Her husband had suggested cutting her hair to release her, but she had vehemently refused. When Roy DeSoto suggested the same thing, she became irate, yelling obscenities at Roy and his partner, John Gage.

So they had taken the disposal apart. By the time they were done, there was water all over the floor and the machine was in several pieces. But the woman's hair was, for the most part, still attached to her head. As they walked out the door, she was grabbing a mop, and complaining to her husband about fixing the garbage disposal.

Roy and Johnny walked to the squad, both shaking their heads, not quite believing this rescue. Johnny was pondering how to write this one up in the log. And Roy was wondering how anyone could be that dumb. As Roy started up the squad and pulled back into traffic, he started to chuckle. He looked over at Gage and smiled.

"Well, Johnny," he commented, "at least we got the worst one out of the way. The rest of the day should be normal."

"Don't say that, Roy," pleaded Gage. "Now you've jinxed us. It'll only get worse from here on in. The whole day will just get crazier."

"C'mon Johnny, it can't get any worse than that!"

"Mark my words, Roy. I'm telling you, I can feel it. It's gonna be a crazy day."

"It's all in your imagination, Johnny. You're beginning to sound like Chet Kelly."

"You wait and see," predicted Gage. "Just wait and see."

The rest of the trip back to the station was silent. Johnny was sure he was right and the day would only get worse. Roy was just as sure that it couldn't get any worse.

Roy should have known better.

/

DeSoto backed the squad into the bay then he and Johnny got out and headed for the kitchen. Johnny was still worried that the day was going to be another crazy one, and Roy was trying to convince him otherwise, without much luck.

"I'm telling you Johnny," said DeSoto, "that call this morning was a fluke."

"Yeah, you keep saying that Roy, but you know how it gets. Once you get one weird call, they just keep piling up."

Chet Kelly was standing nearby and overheard the conversation.

"So, you guys having your normal kind of day?" Kelly interjected.

DeSoto looked at Gage, then glanced at Chet with a bemused look on his face.

"Oh, we had a really strange call this morning," explained Roy, "and now Johnny thinks all of our calls today will be like that."

"Well, you know Roy," Chet began, "it is a full moon."

"Chet," Roy pleaded, "don't you start too. It's bad enough that Johnny is being obstinate about this. Don't add to it, okay."

"Roy, I'm telling you," insisted Chet, "the full moon brings out the worst in people. Strange things happen."

Johnny agreed. "Yeah, Roy, just ask any cop or ER doctor. Things get weird during a full moon."

DeSoto looked at them both, shook his head and walked away. He wasn't about to get into that kind of discussion with these two.

Johnny headed over to get himself a cup of coffee. But Chet stopped him with the offer of the cup he held in his own hand. Johnny accepted it with gratitude, not noticing the smirk on Kelly's face. As Gage lifted to cup to his mouth and took a sip, Kelly slowly moved away from him. Chet turned to leave just as Johnny turned to spit the coffee back into the sink.

"CHET!" he yelled. "What did you put in this!?" Johnny turned to find Kelly gone from the room. "Damn it, Kelly," muttered to himself, "I'll get you for this. One of these days you're gonna go too far."

Roy ran back into the kitchen, having heard Johnny yelling. He found Gage leaning over the kitchen sink trying to rinse out his mouth. Worried, he hurried to Johnny's side.

"Johnny, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Roy asked.

"Yeah Roy, I'm fine, but Chet's not gonna be when I get a hold of him."

DeSoto understood then—Chet Kelly, practical joker, had struck again.

"So, what did he put in your coffee?" Roy inquired.

"I don't know," Johnny replied, then wiped his tongue with a paper towel. "But I'm gonna kill him for it."

DeSoto chuckled, looking at his partner, who was almost always Chet's victim. One day, Roy figured, Chet would go too far. And Roy wasn't sure he wanted to be there when Johnny struck back.

/

The boy was about 8 years old and he had his tongue stuck in a soda bottle. And his mother was hysterical. As they stopped in front of the house, she ran toward them, screaming, grabbing Johnny's arm, and dragging him toward the house.

"Help my son!" she pleaded with him. "He's going to die. Please help him!"

"Take it easy, Ma'am," Johnny said, trying to calm her. "Let us take a look at him and see what we can do."

She led him to a bench in back of the house, where the small boy was sitting. The boys looked up at Gage with wide eyes, filled with fear. Johnny figured most of that fear was because of the way his mother was acting. He crouched down in front of the boy and smiled at him, hoping to reassure him that things weren't as serious as mom was making them out to be.

"What's his name?" Roy asked the mother, while Johnny looked over the boy, and grabbed his wrist to take his pulse.

"Bobby, his name is Bobby," he mother said, sniffling. "Please help him."

Johnny winked at Bobby and smiled. He looked up at Bobby's mom, still smiling, trying to get her to relax, so her son wouldn't be so frightened. Roy walked up and set down the drug box and bio-phone, and asked Johnny what they had.

"Roy, this is Bobby. It seems that Bobby decided he wanted to get every last drop of soda pop out of this bottle, and now he has his tongue stuck. It looks like the tongue has begun to swell up inside the bottle."

Roy had removed the BP cuff and began wrapping it around the boy's arm, while Johnny checked his respiration. After getting all the vitals, Roy called Rampart on the bio-phone. And Johnny tried to explain to the mother, who was now somewhat calmer, that Bobby would probably have to be transported to the hospital so the doctors could remove the bottle.

"Hospital!" she cried. "Oh, my god, why does he have to go to the hospital?"

Johnny put his arm around the mother and made her sit on the bench next to Bobby, who had started to cry after seeing his mother became upset again.

Roy came back over and crouched down next to Johnny.

"Brackett wants us to bring him in, but says no IV for now. But he does want us to ride in with him, just in case he starts to have trouble breathing."

"Okay, Roy," Johnny nodded in understanding. "I think we should take Mom in with us. She's so upset I'm afraid she might collapse on us."

"You want to ride in with them?"

"Sure, but let's have the mother ride up front. I don't want Bobby to get any more excited than he is."

Johnny helped the ambulance attendants lift Bobby onto the stretcher as Roy gathered up the equipment, then carried it to the ambulance. Johnny had Bobby's mother by the arm, was helping her to the waiting ambulance.

As Roy handed the bio-phone to Johnny, he glanced at the boy with the soda bottle on his tongue, shaking his head.

Johnny followed his gaze. "I told you Roy, it's only gonna get worse."

Roy just walked away, not wanted to add to Johnny's paranoia, but beginning to agree with him.

First the lady in the garbage disposal, then they had a man who hit himself in the head while swinging a baseball bat. Then there was a kid who got stuck, upside down, in a large tree. Johnny had to climb up to the poor kid get upright so that he could climb back down the tree.

After they transported Bobby to the hospital, they were dispatched to a couple of love-struck kids who were trying to defy their parents. The parents thought they were too young to date, so the couple decided to bind themselves together forever, by applying super-glue to their palms and holding hands until it dried. Their love lasted all of about four hours before they got tired of being stuck together and had started arguing. While Johnny and Roy were checking them over, the duo had started slapping each other. Then, when Roy tried to intervene, they had started hitting him!

Maybe Johnny was right, Roy thought. But he wasn't about to tell him so.

/

Johnny entered the locker room and headed toward his locker. He didn't notice Chet Kelly hiding around the corner, waiting for Gage to open the locker. Kelly heard the spring release its weapon, heard Johnny gasped, then "damn it".

"Kelly!" Johnny yelled. "Where are you Kelly?! I know you're in here!"

Chet sauntered around the corner, and looked at Johnny innocently.

"Ya know, Gage," he remarked, "if you got that shaving cream on your face, it might be easier to shave."

Gage scooped a bit of the cream from his shirt and threw at Kelly, as Marco Lopez and DeSoto came running into the room, wondering what Johnny was yelling about.

"That's it Kelly," Gage declared. "This means war."

"War? But Johnny, whatever do you mean?"

Gage started toward Chet, but Roy moved between them, placing a hand on Johnny chest.

"It's not worth it, Johnny. Just let it go." Roy turned to Kelly and gestured that he should leave, which he did, followed by Lopez.

Johnny just shook his head, beginning to remove the now soiled shirt.

"I'm not going to let it go. Not this time, Roy. I've had enough. He is about to meet his match."

"Johnny, I don't think…"

"You're not going to talk me out of it, Roy. Kelly has been doing this for too long. And I'm tired of it. It's about time he got a taste of his own medicine!"

Roy could see that Johnny was not going to be sidetracked. He would let him calm down, and talk to him about it later. The one thing they didn't need in the station house was a bunch of childish pranks played by these two against each other. There was too much chance of everyone else getting caught in the crossfire, and he wasn't about to be the one in the middle. But now wasn't the time. He knew if he pressed Gage about it now, the younger man would just dig his heels in deeper. Johnny could be stubborn if you pushed him into a corner and Roy just couldn't deal with that right now.

/

Johnny walked out of the locker room, buttoning up the clean shirt he'd been forced to change into because of Chet's prank. Kelly was currently in the locker room cleaning up the mess, thanks to Captain Stanley, who thought that was only fair.

As Gage began to cross the apparatus floor, the klaxons began to sound again. Roy and Johnny headed out for another rescue, Gage still stewing over a way to get back at Chet. The engine was right behind them as they pulled out of the station.

The address was in an exclusive neighborhood, with many large, expensive homes. This particular home was at the edge of a cliff. The cliff was the scene of this rescue. The owner's teenage son had slipped and fallen about 30 yards down the side of the cliff and was just barely hanging on. As Johnny and Roy looked over the edge, they tried to find the best route down to him. They knew they had to get down there quickly before he lost his grip.

"There, Roy," said Johnny pointed to a spot a few feet to the right of the boy. I think I can get a good angle on him from that outcropping right there."

"Yeah, looks good. Let's try it."

Kelly and Lopez had brought over the ropes and harnesses that Johnny and Roy would need for the climb. As they pulled on the harnesses, Kelly and Lopez tied off the ropes to the front of the fire engine which Mike Stoker had driven over the green lawn. Once John and Roy were ready, they hooked the ropes through their harness belts, and began lowering themselves over the edge.

The boy's sister had told them her brother's name was Jeremy. As Johnny got closer, he started to talk to the boy, assuring him that he would be okay.

"Are you hurt, Jeremy?" Gage asked.

"No, I don't think so. I'm scared. I don't want to fall." He spoke softly, afraid he would disturb the cliff side if he talked any louder. He was about 14 years old, with blond hair and his fingers gripped a small tree that was jutting out from the side of the cliff.

"Just hang on, Jeremy," he called, "we'll be there in just a second and then we'll tie you off so you _can't_ fall."

"Please hurry," Jeremy responded.

Johnny lowered himself until he was just a bit below the level where Jeremy was clinging to the side of the rocky face. He then began to move slowly closer to the boy, keeping an eye on him, talking quietly to keep him calm, but wanting him to be aware of what he was doing.

Gage was about 3 feet away from Jeremy when the boy started to slip, the tree beginning to pull out of the cliff side.

"Roy, he slipping!" Johnny called, as he pushed off for a last lunge at the boy. He was able to get below Jeremy just as the tree gave way completely. Gage clutched at him, wrapping an arm around Jeremy's waist. He heard a scream from up above, assumed it was Jeremy's sister, who was watching from the top of the cliff.

"I've got him, Roy," Johnny said, "but hurry, I don't have a real good grip. And I don't want to let go to put the belt on him."

"On my way, Johnny."

The boy was shaking and Johnny hoped Roy could get there quickly, before he lost his grip. "Keep still, Jeremy. I've got you. You're not gonna fall. Just relax." He continued to talk to the boy as Roy came up next to them. DeSoto unhooked the extra belt from Johnny's gear and was able to wrap it around Jeremy's waste and get it hooked to the rope Johnny was using. They managed to turn Jeremy around so that he could wrap his arms around Gage.

"All set Johnny," Roy declared. "Whenever you're ready."

Johnny then explained to Jeremy what was going to happen, and the men on top of the cliff began to haul them up. Jeremy had his legs wrapped around Johnny's waist, and his arms around his neck. Gage was 'walking' up the cliff, assisted by the men pulling on the rope. As they reached the top, Marco and Chet reached out to help the pair the last few feet. Johnny then unhooked both belts and walked Jeremy away from the cliff's edge, while the others helped Roy up the cliff. Jeremy was shaking and let out a sigh of relief when Johnny helped him sit on the steps of the deck that ran the length of the rear of the house, so that he could begin checking his vitals, and to see if he had any injuries.

Jeremy's sister came over then and sat down next to her brother, a relieved expression on her face.

"Jeremy, are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, Melissa, I'm fine, thanks to him," he said, pointing at Gage.

Johnny was checking Jeremy's pulse, not looking at either of them. Melissa reached out and placed her hand on Gage's arm, causing Johnny to look up. When he did, he saw a beautiful blonde, tall, slender, deep blue eyes, about 25 years old.

She looked him in the eye and smiled. "Thank you," she said, "for saving my brother's life. When he started to fall, I didn't think you'd be able to get to him in time. But you did and I am very grateful."

Johnny began to stammer, caught off guard by this gorgeous woman.

"Ah, that's okay…I mean, your welcome….it's all part of the job, ya know," he finally spat out, embarrassed to be stumbling over his words like that. Here he was a professional, just completed a great rescue, and he was falling on his face in front of this woman.

Thankfully, Roy showed up about then. "How's our mountain climber doing, Johnny?" he asked, acknowledging the sister with a nod.

Johnny was still staring at Melissa, getting the feeling that he'd met her somewhere before, but just couldn't place her. He didn't hear Roy at first. DeSoto then handed him the BP cuff, pulling Johnny from his thoughts.

"Roy, ah, yeah, ah, he seems to be fine," Johnny managed. "Some cuts on his hands, and scrapes and bruises, but nothing major. Pulse is a little fast, but that's not unusual, considering what just happened. Let's give it a minute and I'll check him again just to be sure it's getting back to normal." Gage then looked at Melissa. "I think he'll be okay. But we'll go ahead and contact Rampart hospital and let them know what we've got just in case they want us to bring him on in for a check-up."

He then applied the cuff to take Jeremy's blood pressure, and also checked his respiration. But he kept thinking that he knew Melissa from somewhere, and glanced at her a couple of times trying to remember where they'd met.

Roy called Rampart and gave them the vitals that they had. He spoke for a short time with Jeremy's sister, advising her that she should get Jeremy to their family doctor for a checkup, but that the doctors at Rampart didn't think it was necessary for him to be seen in the emergency room. But if she wanted, they could transport him to be checked.

Melissa assured Roy that she could just take him to their doctor, so he began to pack up the equipment. Melissa walked over to Johnny and pulled him aside, speaking softly to him. As Marco and Chet walked up to Roy, they saw Melissa hug Johnny and give him a quick kiss on the cheek. He then took a notebook and pen from his pocket and handed it to her. She opened the notebook and wrote something in it, then tore the page out, folding it and placing in his shirt pocket. She then handed the notebook and pen back to Gage, kissed him again, and walked back to her brother. As she and Jeremy walked toward the house, she turned back to Johnny and waved. Gage waved back, smiling as he walked over to Roy to help him with their gear. Chet was giving him a dirty look as Gage walked up.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Kelly said, shaking his head in disgust. "John Gage, you should know better than to put the make on a woman while she's under duress like that. It's just not very professional."

"And what would you know about being a professional, Chet?" remarked Gage.

"I know more than to ask a woman out in the middle of a call. You backed her into a corner, Gage. How could she say 'no' after you just saved her brother's life?"

"For your information, Kelly, I didn't ask her out," Gage replied with a smirk.

"Then what was that kiss and what did she write on that piece of paper?"

"Oh, we have a date, all right, but I didn't ask her out, _she _asked _me _out!"

With that, Gage picked up the drug box and the bio-phone and led the way back to the squad. Chet stood there speechless, looking at Roy, then Marco, then back to Roy. DeSoto began to chuckle, and followed Johnny out of the yard. As they came around the front of the house, they saw Jeremy getting in a car, Melissa standing by the door, again talking to John Gage. As they glanced at Chet, they both began to laugh. Melissa said goodbye, winked at Johnny, then got in the car and backed it out on to the street.

Gage walked up to Roy, saying, "Melissa is taking Jeremy over to their doctor's office. She figures she might as well not take any chances, and thinks the doctor will probably be able to fit him in between patients."

As Roy and Johnny got back into the squad, DeSoto heard Gage laughing under his breath.

"So, what's the joke?" he asked.

Johnny looked at him, still chuckling. "Oh, just my final revenge on Chet Kelly."

"I don't get it. What ideas have you got floating around in that feeble mind of yours?"

"Don't worry Roy, you'll be the first to know, as soon as I work out some details with Melissa."

"Melissa, you mean the kid's sister?" Roy asked, reaching to turn on the ignition. Roy placed his hand on the gearshift, ready to put the vehicle in drive. "What does she have to do with this…No, never mind, I don't think I want to know. Johnny, I don't want to be any part of this."

"Roy, quit worrying. It's gonna be great. Boy, Chet is gonna be hamburger meat," Johnny remarked, rubbing his hands together, a grin on his face. "The full moon is finally going to have an effect on Chet Kelly."

/


	2. Chapter 2

**_CHAPTER 2 _**

Later that night, the guys were cleaning up the dishes from dinner when the phone rang. Marco stepped over to pick it up, spoke for a moment then called out to Gage.

"Johnny, some woman named Melissa on the phone for you."

Johnny turned from the sink, where he was washing dishes, grabbed a towel from Roy, who was next to him drying the dishes that Johnny had been washing. As Gage walked to the phone, he wiped his hands on the towel. He put the phone to his ear, and noticing Chet watching him from the sofa, turned his back and started speaking softly.

Chet moved over closer to Roy, still watching Gage on the phone, curious to what was being said.

"Hey, Roy," he began, "who's this Melissa? I don't think I ever heard Johnny talk about her before."

Roy looked at Chet, then glanced over at Johnny who was laughing at something Melissa was saying on the phone.

"Don't interfere, Chet," Roy warned.

"Interfere? Roy I'm just interested in my fellow co-worker," Chet admonished. "I'm concerned that Johnny goes out with the right kind of woman, that's all."

Roy raised his eyebrows, staring at Kelly in disbelief. Maybe Johnny was right, Chet did need to be taught a lesson. A lesson in humility.

"Melissa is the sister of the boy we rescued off that cliff today," Roy explained.

"Oh, I get it," Chet said, nodding. "She's probably calling to tell him she's had second thoughts and only asked him out because she was overwhelmed with gratitude."

Johnny turned toward the pair as they talked near the sink. "Hey, Roy, Melissa wants to know if you and Joanne can join us Sunday. We're gonna go sailing. Melissa's dad owns a sailboat, and she wants us to join her family for dinner."

"Well, we don't have anything planned as far as I know," replied Roy, "but I'll need to check to be sure. Can you let her know later?"

"Melissa," Johnny spoke into the phone, "Roy likes the idea, but wants to double check with his wife, make sure she hasn't made other plans. So how about if I call you back later…..Yeah, okay," Johnny answered, "about eight o'clock if we're not on a run. Talk to you later then." Johnny hung up the phone and walked back over to continue with the dishes. "Melissa says that Jeremy is doing just fine. The doctor checked him over and didn't find anything more than scrapes and bruises, just like we figured."

"Great. It could have been a lot worse if you hadn't gotten below him when you did. He was lucky we got there so fast."

"So, Gage," Chet piped in. "Is the sister still going through with your date? Or did she finally come to her senses and realize she was just letting emotions cloud her good judgment?"

"Chet, not only is she going through with the date, but she invited me to spend my next weekend off with her at Lake Tahoe," Johnny assured him

"Gage, Gage, Gage," Chet said, shaking his head. "When are you gonna learn? She's just being nice to you. She'll call up the day before and cancel with some lame excuse, and then you'll never hear from her again." Then Chet walked away, still shaking his head, sure that Johnny was being played for the fool. Gage just smiled, like he knew a secret no one else knew.

/

The full moon was out in full force the rest of the night. The boys got sent to a call about someone in labor, but when they got there the only person at home was a man who kept insisting he was pregnant. They transported him to Rampart, where he naturally ended up in the psychiatric ward. After that is was one crazy thing after another.

When they dropped the 'father-to-be' off at the hospital, they checked in at the desk to pick up some supplies. While they were waiting for the paperwork to be signed, all hell broke loose in the emergency room and the boys stuck around to lend a hand. They helped treat a man who had a marble stuck in his ear, a woman who couldn't stop sneezing, and a little girl who swallowed perfume, because she wanted to have good breath.

Then on the way back to the station, they came upon a one-car accident, and stopped to help. Roy called for an ambulance and police assistance while Johnny walked up to talk to the driver, who was still seated behind the wheel. The car was perched on top of a concrete lane divider, with the front two tires off the ground.

When Johnny asked the lady how the accident happened she just started to cry. She wouldn't or couldn't answer any of Johnny's questions about her condition, so they were careful removing her from the vehicle. Once they got her down on the ground, however she start laughing.

"Did you see it?" she asked.

"See what ma'am?" Roy asked her back.

"The angel! The angel! Did you see the angel?"

Roy looked at Johnny, who just rolled his eyes and walked away, leaving Roy to handle to woman on his own. Since the woman wasn't injured, Roy just turned her over to the police officer, and the boys headed back to the station.

/

Gage and DeSoto walked into the kitchen to find Chet Kelly pacing back and forth.

"Johnny," Chet cried out, "thank god you made it back! Are you okay, you aren't hurt are you?"

Roy and Johnny exchanged quizzical glances, wondering what had gotten into Kelly. "I'm fine, Chet," Johnny assure him. "What's wrong with you? What gave you the idea that I'd been hurt?"

"The phone call," Chet answered, as if that explained everything.

Johnny looked at Marco and Stoker who were sitting on the couch watching television. "Marco, Mike, do either of you know what he's talking about?" he asked.

Chet grabbed Johnny by the arms, shaking him.

"Johnny, man, they're after you! Those guys are after you!"

"Chet, what are you talking about? What guys? What phone call?"

"Johnny, this guy called while you and Roy were out! He said he knew about you and his girlfriend and he was going to teach you a lesson! Johnny, this guy really wants to hurt you!" Chet seemed absolutely frightened by the thought.

Johnny faced Roy and winked, knowing who it was that called, but not wanting to let on to Chet that he knew.

"Chet, did he tell you his name, or the name of this 'alleged' girlfriend?"

"Well, no," stated Chet, "but don't you think it's a bit strange that all this happened on the day you meet a new girl?"

"Kelly, you're over reacting," John played down the call. "Just forget it, okay." And he headed over to pour himself a cup of coffee.

Roy put a hand on Chet's shoulder, in an effort to calm him down.

"Chet, it's probably just a crank. Maybe the guys at Station 8 are just trying to mess with you, or with Johnny."

Kelly brightened a bit, not having thought of that possibility. He nodded and smiled at Roy.

"Yeah, that's it," he murmured. "Those guys are always playing jokes on us. That must be what it is. Thanks, Roy. You're right. It's the guys at 8's. Gotta be the guys over at 8's…." He walked away, still murmuring, trying to convince himself that Roy was right.

/

Roy and Johnny were on their way to yet another call. The report was of a man having trouble breathing, no other details. The address was in a rural area of the county where addresses were few and far between, but luckily the dispatcher had been able to get some good directions and they had found the house with little difficulty.

They pulled the squad up to the front of the house, which appeared dark. As they got to the door and knocked, they could hear some noises from inside.

"Fire Department," yelled Roy. "Hello, someone need help here?"

Getting no answer, but still hearing the noises, they tried the door, finding it open. They could see a light from down a dark hallway, and called out again to whoever might be in the house. Again getting no answer, they started down the corridor to where the light was coming from. As they entered the room, they could see a man sitting on the bed, with his back against the headboard. He was gasping for breath.

Johnny and Roy hurried over to the man and began checking him over. The man was about 40 years old, in good physical condition, except that he couldn't seem to catch him breath.

"Sir, can you tell me if you have a history of asthma?" Johnny asked. The man couldn't talk, so just shook his head 'no'. Roy had begun to set up the bio-phone while Johnny started the man on oxygen.

Dr. Brackett had answered Roy's call, and advised him to 'send a strip', because he wanted to see how the man's heart was doing. As Roy began to pull out the needed equipment, Johnny explained to the man what they were going to do, and began to unbutton the man's shirt.

Suddenly, Johnny jumped up from the bed with a yelp. Roy looked up, startled, only to see Johnny back quickly away from the bed…and the patient. DeSoto couldn't understand what would make Johnny react this way, unless he'd been hurt in some way. Roy started toward the patient, but Gage stopped him.

"ROY! Watch out!" he yelled.

DeSoto froze and looked back at Johnny, who was staring wildly at the bed and the man lying on it.

"Johnny, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Snake!"

"What?" Roy asked, incredulous.

Johnny just pointed at the patient and repeated "Snake."

Roy turned to look at the man lying in the bed and started to cautiously walk toward the man. As he got closer, he finally realized what Johnny was trying to warn him about. Just inside the man's shirt he could the head of a rather large snake peeking out, the tongue flicking in Roy's direction.

Roy looked at the man, who was still having trouble breathing.

"Is this snake poisonous?"

The man shook his head again, to assure Roy that the reptile was not dangerous. Roy reached out to finish opening man's shirt, Johnny watching him the whole time, a little afraid to get any closer. Gage wasn't real fond of snakes, and having this one poke its way out of the man's shirt like that had nearly put Johnny into cardiac arrest.

Roy was finally able to get the shirt open and found that the snake had wrapped itself around the man's chest. He looked back at Gage. "At least now we know why this guy was having so much trouble breathing. Johnny, give me a hand, we have to uncoil this snake."

Gage hesitated for just a moment, then slowly walked over to the bed to assist his partner, trying to touch the snake a little as possible. It took both of them to release the grip that the snake had on the man, and also keep it from wrapping itself around one of them at the same time.

Roy was finally able to carry the snake into the bathroom and dropped it into the tub, closing the door behind him as he left. When he walked back into the bedroom, Gage was already checking the patient again, getting his vitals for Rampart. The man appeared to be breathing better, but was still wheezing some. As DeSoto walked back over to the bed, he could hear Dr. Brackett voice over the bio-phone, wondering what had happened to his paramedics, trying to get them to answer him.

Roy picked up the receiver, and set about explaining the situation to the doctor at the hospital, as Johnny set about hooking the patient up, per the doctor's orders. He gave Roy the list of vitals that he'd taken, and Roy relayed them to Rampart, then sent the strip to the doc as well.

While checking the patient, Johnny discovered that the man had a couple of broken ribs, testament to how tightly the snake had been squeezing. As the ambulance attendants finally arrived at the house, Roy was contacting dispatch to have someone come out and take the snake into custody. It wasn't safe to leave it in the house. Johnny would ride to the hospital with the patient, while Roy stood by for either the Sheriff's Deputy or Animal Control to arrive on scene.

As Roy helped Gage load the equipment into the ambulance, he looked up to find Johnny staring at him. He knew what Gage was going to say, but didn't want to hear it.

"Don't say it Johnny," he said, raising a hand. "I don't want to hear any more about the full moon."

Gage just smiled at him as he closed the door of the ambulance. Roy slapped his hand on the door to let the driver know it was okay to move out. DeSoto then walked back to the squad to wait out whoever was coming to get the snake, glancing up just in time to see the moon move behind a cloud.

/

As Johnny and Roy pulled back into the station and got out of the squad, they could hear loud voices coming from the kitchen area. They walked into the kitchen to find Chet backed up against the wall, looking up at a huge man who towered over him.

"I should just kill you right now, Gage!" he was yelling.

"But you don't understand, my name is Chet…..Chet Kelly. I….I'm ah, I'm not John Gage," he Kelly stammered.

"You're lying, little man," bellowed the big man. "I got a description and that description matches you."

The Captain, Marco and Stoker were all standing off to the side, not quite sure what to do. As Johnny and Roy moved all the way into the room, they saw Melissa standing off in the corner, watching the scene with a mixture of amusement and trepidation.

She saw Johnny walk in and breathed a sigh of relief. She had been hoping he would return soon. Kelly also saw Gage walk in and saw his own salvation.

"Johnny, thank god. This guys has been looking for you." As the big man turned to look at the newcomers, Chet took the opportunity to slide away from the wall and join the others across the room.

The man lifted an enormous hand and pointed at Johnny.

"Are you John Gage?" he roared. Everybody jumped at the sound of the man's voice. Melissa started walking toward him.

"Now, honey," she said, "Don't get upset." She grabbed his arm and tried to talk soothingly to him. But he just brushed her off, and started toward Gage, who backed out of the kitchen, bumping into the doorframe on his way out.

As he got to the apparatus floor, he backed into something else. As he turned to see what he had made contact with, he found himself staring up at a man even bigger than the guy inside. Behind this man were three others, all just as large. Two of the men grabbed Gage by the arms and carried him back into the kitchen, turning him around to face the giant who had started the whole thing.

The man was big…no, he was huge…he was a boulder. Abigboulder. Johnny slowly looked at the man's face and smiled.

"You must be Dave," Johnny ventured. "Melissa talks about you all the time."

Dave reached out and picked Gage up, lifting him until their faces were level. He then turned to Melissa, who was standing next to him.

"Is this the one?" he demanded, shaking Johnny like a rag doll.

Johnny reached out and tapped Dave on the shoulder. "Excuse me, could you put me down. I'm sure we can talk this out."

"Talk!" the man bellowed. "I don't want to talk! I'm here to teach you lesson, about messing with other guys' girlfriends!"

With that he began carrying Gage out the door onto the apparatus floor and out the back door of the garage. Kelly began to follow them, then realized that the others were still standing there. He turned to face the Captain, Marco, Roy and Stoker, talking quietly amongst themselves.

"C'mon guys, we gotta help Johnny," he pleaded.

"Why?" asked Marco.

"Yeah," Stanley agreed, "he got himself into this; he can get himself out." Stoker just nodded and sat down on the couch, picking up the newspaper to finish the article he had been reading when all this started.

Chet opened his mouth to talk, but couldn't think of anything to say. He just stared at these men he thought he knew, wondering why they wouldn't help Gage.

"Anybody want some coffee?" asked Roy, as he walked to the cupboard and pulled out a cup, pouring himself some coffee.

"_ROY_! How can you think about coffee now, those guys are gonna hurt Johnny!"

Roy just shrugged, taking a sip from the cup. "Chet, Gage has been playing the ladies' man for years. It finally caught up with him. Maybe those guys are right, he needs to be taught a lesson."

Kelly couldn't believe he was hearing this from Roy DeSoto. He and Gage had been partners for years and he couldn't believe Roy would just let him get beaten up like that.

"Well, if you guys aren't gonna help, I am. We should at least call the cops!"

"Kelly, don't be ridiculous," said Stanley. "Let these guys finish what they're doing and then we can get Johnny to the hospital if we have to." Stanley then looked at Marco and asked, "What's on television tonight, any good movies?"

Kelly was beside himself. He just couldn't believe it.

But then, he hadn't been part of the conversation when Roy had quietly pulled the others aside and clued them in to what was going on. While Chet was engrossed in the by-play between Johnny and Dave, Roy had explained Gage's prank to the rest of the crew. So everyone was in on it now-everyone except Chet.

They heard a loud crash from outside. Chet started to walk out there to see what he could do to help. If the others weren't going to help, then Chet would do it himself. He didn't know what he could do, but figured he had to do something!

As Chet walked out the door, the others jumped up and followed him, wanting to see what Johnny had planned. As Chet walked outside, everything became very quiet. He timid took a few steps forward, into the darkness, calling Johnny's name.

Then suddenly a yell came from the right and something came flying out of the air, straight for Kelly. It landed with a splat on top of his head. Then more items came flying at Kelly, each from a different direction.

"Beware of the full moon, Kelly," said a disembodied voice that sounded strangely like John Gage. Then the laughter started. Someone switched on the lights to reveal Kelly covered with mushy, over-ripe tomatoes.

Gage walked up to Kelly, shaking his head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," said Johnny, "Kelly, don't you know that tomatoes are supposed to be used in salads, not as a uniform accessory? Shameful, just shameful."

The five large men came out of the shadows, along with Melissa, all laughing along with Gage. Kelly turned to find his Captain and the other members of the crew behind him, Marco holding his side with laughter.

Kelly had been had. He had been beaten at this own game. And he wasn't sure he liked it. He looked at Johnny, then at the men who just a few minutes earlier, Chet had been sure were ready to hurt his friend.

"So, Gage," he said, spitting out some of the tomato juice that had dribble down his face into his mouth, "I assume that you know these guys?"

"Actually, no Chet, I just met them here for the first time. But let me introduce you anyway." He turned to Dave, motioning him forward. "Chet, this is Dave Milkins, Melissa's fiancée. And these other fellas over there," he said, pointing to the other four men, "they are teammates of Dave's. He's a linebacker for the San Diego Chargers."

"Fiancée? But I thought you and Melissa…."

"That's what you get for thinking, Chet," Johnny explained. "It turns out Melissa is an old friend of my sister's. When we had the rescue out at her place earlier, we recognized each other. And she helped me set up my revenge against you. With a little bit of help from Dave and his friends, who happened to be in town visiting. I told you it was going to be a war, Chet. I just had better ammunition than you."

Chet nodded, beginning to laugh himself. Stoker handed him a towel, and he started wiping the tomatoes from his face.

"Okay, Gage, I give up. You win. I won't pull any more practical jokes or pranks on you, I promise."

"I will keep you to that promise," said Captain Stanley, who walked up next to Chet, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "This is the end of it Kelly. No more bad coffee, shaving cream, water bombs, or anything of the sort. Understood?"

Kelly nodded, "Understood, Cap, understood."

Dave walked over to Kelly, extending his hand, which Kelly grab and shook.

"Sorry about that man," Dave apologized. "But the boys and I just couldn't resist when Melissa told us what was going on. I had to help the guy that saved Melissa's brother. After all, I'll be part of the family soon."

"No problem," Chet replied. "Look, why don't you guys come in for some coffee."

Everyone agreed, and they all headed back into the kitchen, while Chet headed for the locker room to change into a new uniform. Just as Chet entered the kitchen, the klaxons began to sound. Station 51 was being called to a fire, and they headed out to their vehicles and started down the street.

And all the while, Chet was planning his revenge.

THE END


End file.
